Alton Bryant Daughtrey, Jr.

Alton Bryant Daughtrey, Jr. (A.B.), age 82, of Austin, Texas, passed away on January 17, 2024. While his body on Earth gave out from worsening lung disease and pneumonia, his larger-than-life personality now has a new Home where he can hunt and fish, play poker, ride bulls, eat endless chicken fried steak and shoot the breeze.

A.B. was born on September 13, 1941 in Los Angeles, Texas, son to Alton Byant Daughtrey, Sr. and Loreen Overby. Two years later, his brother Wayne was born. A.B. chastised his younger brother endlessly in his youth but cherished him immensely throughout life to his last days.

Spending hours upon hours researching genealogy, A.B. was able to trace the Daughtrey family name back to 1795 with a majority of that time in Texas. He was intensely proud of this Texas heritage and never met a cowboy he didn’t like.

A.B. grew up in Cotulla, Texas and graduated from Cotulla High School in 1960. A.B. took the Texas college tour attending Abilene Christian College (Abilene, TX), Southwest Texas Jr. College (Uvalde, TX), Southwest Texas State College (San Marcos, TX) and Texas A&I (Kingsville, TX.) In 1965, A.B. went to work at Central Power and Light (CPL) in Corpus Christi, Texas as a Shop Meterman Apprentice. Over the next 40 years with CPL (now AEP), A.B. worked his way up to a Division Meter Supervisor. A.B. was proud of his tenure at CPL/AEP (his mom retired from the same company) and leaves behind many wonderful colleagues and memories.

A.B. met Kathleen Whicker in Corpus Christi, TX on a blind date. The two were married in the Cotulla Church of Christ on April 27, 1974. A.B. and Kathy spent the next years raising their three children living in Pearsall, Laredo, Cotulla and Corpus Christi. In 2002, A.B. retired from AEP and they soon after moved to Whitney, TX where they lived for 11 years until moving to Cibolo, TX in 2014. After Kathy’s passing on October 14, 2021, A.B. moved to Austin to be closer to family.

A.B. leaves behind a close-knit group of friends made throughout his life including in his most recent years. He was grateful for the short time spent at the apartment community in Austin and the good friends who supported him, let him win in poker and listened to his countless tales.

A.B. is survived by his son, Corey, wife Angie, and granddaughter Erika of El Paso; daughter, Lori, husband Scott Struik of Chicago, and granddaughter Zoe of Austin; and daughter, Jennifer, husband Michael Hicks, grandson Max and granddaughter Maya of Austin; and two great-grandchildren, Wyatt and Ellie of El Paso. He is also survived by his brother, Wayne and sister-in-law Judy Daughtrey of Cotulla and niece, Brittney Ringelstein of Uvalde.

A graveside ceremony will be held on Saturday, February 24, 2024, at 10 a.m. at Cotulla Cemetery West located on FM 468 in Cotulla, Texas.